Background Notes: Turkey
PA/PC
Source: Office of Public Communication, Bureau of Public
Affairs
Date: Jan 15, 19911/15/91
Category: Country Data
Region: Europe
Country: Turkey
Subject: Travel, History, International Organizations,
Trade/Economics
[TEXT]
Official Name: Republic of Turkey
PROFILE
Geography
Area: 766,640 sq. km. (296,000 sq. mi.); slightly larger than Texas.
Cities: Capital-Ankara (pop. 3.69 million). Other cities-Istanbul
(6.82 million), Izmir (2.61 million), Adana (1.93 million). Terrain:
Narrow coastal plain surrounds Anatolia; an inland plateau becomes
increasingly rugged as it progresses eastward. Turkey includes one
of the more earthquake-prone areas of the world. Climate:
Moderate in coastal areas, harsher temperatures inland.
People
Nationality: Noun-Turk(s). Adjective-Turkish. Population (1989
est.): 55.3 million. Annual growth rate: 2.2%. Ethnic groups:
Turkish, Kurdish, other. Religions: Muslim 98%, Christian, Jewish.
Languages: Turkish (official), Kurdish, Arabic. Education: Years
compulsory-6. Attendance-95%. Literacy-89%. Health: Infant
mortality rate-62/1,000. Life expectancy-66 yrs. Work force (18.7
million): Agriculture-50%. Industry and commerce-21%. Services-
29%.
Government
Type: Republic. Independence: 1923. Constitution: November 7,
1982.
Branches: Executive-president (chief of state), prime minister,
Council of Ministers (cabinet). Legislative-Grand National
Assembly (450 members) chosen by national elections at least
every 5 years. Judicial-constitutional court, court of cassation,
council of state, high council of judges and prosecutors.
Political parties: Motherland Party (ANAP), Social Democrat
Populist Party (SHP), Correct Way Party (DYP), democratic Left
Party (DSP), several smaller parties. Suffrage: Universal, 21 and
older.
Central government budget (1989 est.): $15.5 billion (32,933 billion
Turkish lira).
Defense: 2.8% of 1989 GDP or 13.2% of 1989 budget.
National holiday: Republic Day, October 29.
Flag: White crescent and star on a red field.
ECONOMY
GNP (1989 estimate): $80.5 billion. Annual growth rate (1983-89):
5.3%. Per capita income (1989 estimate): $1,433. Avg. annual
inflation rate (1989): About 68.8%.
Natural resources: Coal, chromite, copper, boron, oil.
Agriculture (15% of GNP): Major cash crops-cotton, sugar beets,
hazelnuts, wheat, barley, and tobacco. Provides more than 55% of
jobs, 25% of exports.
Industry (32% of GNP): Major growth sector. Types-Food
processing, textiles, basic metals, chemicals, and petrochemicals.
Trade (1989): Exports-$12 billion: tobacco, cotton, textiles,
cement, raisins, nuts, leather, glass, ceramics. Imports-$16
billion: petroleum, pharmaceuticals and dyes, iron and steel,
machinery, plastics and rubber, transport vehicles. Major partners-
France, Germany, Iran, Iraq, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, UK, US, USSR.
Fiscal year: Calendar year.
Official exchange rate (Feb. 1990): 2408 Turkish lira=US$1
(adjusted daily).
US economic aid (FY 1946-90): $4.3 billion. US military aid (FY
1946-90): more than $14 billion.
Membership in International Organizations
UN, North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), Council of
Europe, Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development
(OECD), Islamic Conference Organization (OIC), European Community
(EC) associate member, ITELSAT.
PEOPLE
Bridging Europe and Asia Minor, Turkey is a land of geographic,
economic, and social contrasts. Slightly larger than Texas, modern
Turkey spans bustling cosmopolitan centers, pastoral farming
villages, barren wastelands, peaceful Aegean islands, and steep
mountain regions. More than half of Turkey's population-expected to
reach 83 million by 2005 if its annual growth rate of 2.2%
continues-live in urban areas that juxtapose Western life-styles
with squatter dwellings that increasingly ring the cities' edges.
Most Turks, however, work on farms. Although Turkey is still a
developing country, recent improvements in services have resulted
in the proliferation of electricity nationwide and telephone
connections for all its 34,500 villages.
Although 98% of the population is Muslim, Turkey has been
officially secular since the early 1920s. Most Turkish Muslims
belong to the Sunni branch of Islam. The state exercises no legal
discrimination against its non-Islamic minorities, primarily
Armenian and Syriac Christians, nd Jews.
Turks of Kurdish origin constitute an ethnic and linguistic
group. Estimates of their population range up to 10 million.
Although an increasing number have migrated to the cities, the
traditional home of the Kurds is in poor, remote areas of the east
and southeast, where incomes are less than half the national
average and economic development lags.
Culture
Turkish culture, rich in Ottoman and folkloric elements, is
traditional and modern. Turkish carpet weaving is one of the oldest
crafts in the world. Ceramics and other Ottoman-era crafts retain
their varied regional character.
Modern Turkish cultural life dates from the 1923 founding of
the republic and early efforts to Westernize Turkish society. As a
result, the arts, literature, drama, and classical and contemporary
music have flourished. State support of cultural activities is
extensive and encompasses a national network of theaters,
orchestras, opera and ballet companies, university fine arts
academies, and various conservatories. Public funds also are used
to provide partial support for private theater groups and for major
art exhibitions and festivals.
HISTORY
The legendary Mustafa Kemal, a Turkish World War I hero later
known as "Ataturk" or "father of the Turks," founded the republic of
Turkey in 1923 after the collapse of the 600-year-old Ottoman
Empire. The empire, which at its peak controlled vast stretches of
northern Africa, southeastern Europe, and western Asia, had failed
to keep pace with European social and technological developments.
The rise of nationalism impelled several ethnic groups to seek
independence, leading to the empire's fragmentation. This process
culminated in the disastrous Ottoman participation in World War I
as a German ally. Defeated, shorn of much of its former territory,
and partly occupied by forces of the victorious European states, the
Ottoman structure was repudiated by Turkish nationalists who
rallied under Ataturk's leadership. The nationalists expelled
invading Greek forces from Anatolia after a bitter war. The
temporal and religious ruling institutions of the old empire (the
sultanate and caliphate) were abolished.
The new republic concentrated on Westernizing the empire's
Turkish core-Anatolia and a small part of Thrace. Social, political,
linguistic, and economic reforms and attitudes introduced by
Ataturk before his death in 1938 continue to form the ideological
base of modern Turkey. Referred to as "Kemalism," it comprises
secularism, nationalism, and modernization and turns toward the
West for inspiration and support. The continued validity and
applicability of Kemalism are the subject of frequent discussion
and debate in Turkey's political life.
Turkey entered World War II on the Allied side shortly before
the war ended and became a charter member of the United Nations.
Difficulties faced by Greece after World War II in quelling a
Communist rebellion and demands by the Soviet Union for military
bases in the Turkish Straits caused the United States to declare the
Truman Doctrine in 1947. The doctrine enunciated American
intentions to guarantee the security of Turkey and Greece and
resulted in large-scale US military and economic aid. After
participating with United Nations forces in the Korean conflict,
Turkey in 1952 joined the North Atlantic Treaty Organization
(NATO).
Military Coups and Coalitions
One-party rule (Republican People's Party-RPP) established by
Ataturk in 1923 lasted until elections in 1950. The Democrat Party
then governed Turkey until 1960, when growing economic problems
and internal political tensions culminated in a military coup. A new
constitution was written, and civilian government was reinstated
with the convening of the Grand National Assembly (GNA) in 1961.
In addition, the new constitution established a National Security
Council (NSC) composed of the chief of the Turkish general staff and
representatives of the army, air force, and navy.
Coalition governments, dominated by the RPP, ruled Turkey for
the next 5 years. In 1965 and 1969, the Justice Party (JP), led by
Suleyman Demirel, won sizable majorities of GNA seats and ruled
alone.
Political agitation surfaced in 1968 and increased as left- and
right-wing extremists took to the streets. In March 1971, senior
military leaders grew dissatisfied with the JP's inability to cope
with domestic violence. In a so-called "coup by memorandum," they
called for the JP's replacement by a more effective government.
Demirel's government resigned and was replaced by a
succession of "above party" governments, which ruled until the
October 1973 general elections. Those elections saw the RPP
reemerge as the largest party and its chairman, Bulent Ecevit,
become prime minister of a coalition government composed of the
RPP and the conservative, religiously oriented National Salvation
Party. In 1974, the coalition faltered. Ecevit resigned, early
elections were called, and a prolonged government crisis ensued.
From 1975 to 1980, unstable coalition governments ruled, led
alternately by Demirel and Ecevit. By the end of 1979, an
accelerating decline in the economy, coupled with mounting
violence from the extreme left and right, led to increasing
instability. Demirel's government began an economic stabilization
program in early 1980, but by summer, political violence was
claiming more than 20 victims daily. A severely divided GNA was
unable to elect a new president or to pass other legislation to cope
with the crisis.
On September 12, 1980, the NSC, led by General Kenan Evren,
moved successfully to restore public order. Thousands of terrorists
were captured, along with large caches of weapons and ammunition.
While political activity was banned and the former political parties
dissolved, the NSC initiated steps to restore democratic civilian
rule by 1983. These measures included a national referendum on
November 7, 1982, which resulted in overwhelming public approval
(91%) of a new constitution drawn up by the 160-member
Consultative Assembly and modified by the NSC. The referendum
simultaneously approved General Evren as president for a 7-year
term. A temporary article banning former political party leaders
from politics for 10 years also went into effect.
New political parties were allowed to form in 1983 as long as
founding members were not leaders or members of parliament
attached to any pre-1980 political parties. Prior to the deadline
for participation in the 1983 national elections, three political
parties-the Nationalist Democracy Party, the Motherland Party, and
the Populist Party-were authorized.
In the 1983 elections, the Motherland Party (founded by Turgut
Ozal, deputy prime minister between 1980 and 1982 and architect
of Turkey's successful economic austerity program under the
military government) won an absolute majority in the 400-member
Grand National Assembly (GNA). The Populist Party came in second,
and the Nationalist Democracy Party third. The new government took
office in December 1983.
The Ozal administration, the first civilian government since
the early 1970s to rule without coalition partners, made economic
reform its priority.
In September 1987, a referendum lifting the 10-year ban on
former politicians passed by a small margin. Ozal called
immediately for national elections, the first since 1980 in
which all legal parties were allowed to participate. The elections
were held in November, and Ozal won a second 5-year term and a
comfortable majority in parliament (292 of 450 seats based on a
weighted proportional system). The Social Democrat Populist Party
won 99 seats and became the main opposition party. Former Prime
Minister Suleyman Demirel's Correct Way Party won 59 seats. No
other party reached the 10% level necessary to enter parliament.
The Democratic Left Party of former Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit
won only 8% of the vote. The next parliamentary election is due in
1992.
In 1989, Ozal was elected president. Ozal's Motherland Party
suffered a setback in March 1989 municipal elections, receiving
only 22% of the votes cast; down from 36% in 1987. The opposition
has since called repeatedly for early parliamentary elections.
GOVERNMENT AND POLITICAL CONDITIONS
The 1982 constitution preserves a democratic, secular,
parliamentary form of government with a strengthened presidency.
It provides for an independent judiciary and safeguards
internationally recognized human rights. These rights, including
freedom of thought, expression, assembly, and travel, can be limited
in times of emergency and cannot be used to violate the integrity of
the state or to impose a system of government based on religion,
ethnicity, or the domination of one social class. The constitution
prohibits torture or ill treatment. Labor rights, including the right
to strike, are recognized in the constitution but can be restricted.
The president and prime minister share executive powers. The
president, who has broad powers of appointment and supervision, is
chosen by the GNA for a term of 7 years and cannot be reelected.
The prime minister administers the government. The prime
minister and the Council of Ministers are responsible to the GNA.
The 450-member GNA carries out legislative functions.
Election is by proportional representation. To participate in the
distribution of seats, a party must obtain at least 10% of the votes
cast at the national level as well as a percentage of votes in the
contested district according to a complex formula. This "double
threshold" or "barrage" mechanism is intended to reduce the
likelihood of coalition governments by reducing the number of
smaller parties in parliament.
The president is to enact laws passed by the GNA within 15
days. With the exception of budgetary laws, the president may
return a law to the GNA for reconsideration. If the GNA reenacts
the law, it is binding. Constitutional amendments require a two-
thirds majority for approval. They also may be submitted to popular
referendum.
The 1982 constitution preserves the judicial system
previously in effect and provides for a system of state security
courts to deal with offenses against the integrity of the state. The
high court system remains in place with its functional division,
common in European states, including a constitutional court
responsible for judicial review of legislation, a court of cassation
(or supreme court of appeals), a council of state serving as the high
administrative and appeals court, a court of accounts, and a
military court of appeals. The High Council of Judges and
Prosecutors, appointed by the president, supervises the judiciary.
Only the Motherland Party remains of the three parties that
competed in the 1983 elections. The Nationalist Democracy Party
dissolved itself, and the Populist Party merged with the Social
Democrat Populist Party, a new center-left party.
Principal Government Officials
President of the Republic-Turgut Ozal
Prime Minister-Yildirim Akbulut
Minister of Foreign Affairs-Ahmet Kurtcebe Alpetemocin
Ambassador to the United States-Nuzhet Kandemir
Ambassador to the United Nations-Mustafa Aksin
Turkey maintains an embassy in the United States at 1714
Massachussets Avenue NW, Washington, DC, 20036 and consulates
general in Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, and Houston.
DEFENSE
Turkey's armed forces, with more than 700,000 members, are
the largest in NATO after those of the United States. Turkey entered
NATO in 1952 and serves as the organization's vital eastern anchor,
sharing a long sea and land border with the Soviet Union and
controlling the straits leading from the Black Sea to the
Mediterranean. Two NATO headquarters are located in Izmir. More
than 10,000 US military personnel and their dependents are
stationed at installations in Turkey, including a major air base at
Incirlik, near Adana, several communications and electronics
facilities, and a number of smaller installations. Major American
military organizations in Turkey include the Joint US Military
Mission for Aid to Turkey and the US Logistical Group, each headed
by a US major general.
With assistance from the United States and other NATO allies,
the Turkish military is undergoing major modernization.
FOREIGN RELATIONS
Besides its relationships with NATO and the European
Community (EC), Turkey is a member of the OECD and the Council of
Europe. Its primary political, economic, and security ties are with
the West. During the last several years, Turkey has continued to
expand its relations with Western Europe, rejoining the Council of
Europe after an absence of several years and applying for full
membership in the EC. Turkey also has continued to expand its trade
relations with the Middle East and the Soviet Union.
US-TURKISH RELATIONS
Turkish-American friendship dates to the late 18th century
and was officially sealed by a treaty in 1830. The present close
relationship began with the agreement of July 12, 1947, which
implemented the Truman Doctrine. As part of the cooperative effort
to further Turkish economic and military self-reliance, the United
States has loaned and granted Turkey more than $4 billion in
economic aid and more than $14 billion in military assistance.
US-Turkish relations were severely tested in July 1974, when
Turkey invoked a 1960 treaty of guarantee for Cyprus and sent
troops there to protect the Turkish Cypriot community following
the overthrow of the Cypriot government by mainland Greek officers
in the Cypriot national guard. The ensuing fighting on Cyprus led to
Turkish occupation of the northern part of the island, which remains
in place today. Turkey's use of American-supplied arms during the
intervention caused the US Congress to mandate an embargo in 1975
on military shipments to Turkey. Resentment of this action led to a
Turkish decision in July 1975 to suspend important US defense
activities at joint installations and cancel the 1969 defense
cooperation agreement. The US embargo was relaxed in October
1975, and in March 1976 a new defense agreement was signed, but
not approved, by the Congress. In September 1978, the embargo
ended and US-Turkish relations improved markedly. Turkey lifted
restrictions on US activities in late 1978.
The United States and Turkey signed a defense and economic
cooperation agreement in March 1980 that established a new
framework for US military activities in Turkey and committed the
United States to "best efforts" in providing defense support to the
Turkish armed forces. The two countries signed an exchange of
letters in March 1987 to extend the agreement through December of
1990. It will continue automatically on a year-to-year basis from
1991 on, unless one of the two parties objects by September 18,
1991, or by the 18th of any following year.
Turkey temporarily imposed some restrictions on American
military activities in early 1990 in response to the US Senate's
consideration of a resolution to declare a day of remembrance for
what Armenians and others have described as genocide of
Armenians by pre-republican Turkey. Turkey lifted the restrictions
after the resolution failed to pass. The unresolved Armenian and
Cyprus issues continue to disturb US-Turkish relations.
Principal US Officials
Ambassador-Morton I. Abramowitz
Deputy Chief of Mission-Marc Grossman
Counselors Political Affairs-Michael I. Austrian
Political-Military Affairs-Regina Eltz
Economic Affairs-Charles Jacobini
Administrative Affairs-William Kelly
Public Affairs Officer -Larry Taylor
Defense/Air Attache-Col. Jerry Kafka
Navy Attache-Capt. Jesse James
Army Attache-Col. Robert Jiminez
Consuls General Istanbul-Thomas Carolan Izmir-Eugene Zajac
Consul Adana-Harry Cole
US Mission Addresses
The US embassy is located at 110 Ataturk Blvd., Ankara. The
consulate general in Istanbul is at 104-108 Mesrutiyet Caddesi; the
consulate general in Izmir at 92 Ataturk Caddesi, third floor; and
the consulate in Adana, on Ataturk Caddesi.
ECONOMY
The Turkish economy underwent dramatic changes in the
1980s. An export-led growth strategy and free-market principles
catapulted Turkey into the ranks of the fastest growing economies
in the OECD. Turkey's free market orientation is dynamic, and it is
unlikely to return to former inward-looking policies. The industrial
sector has assumed greater importance in the Turkish economy,
although the public sector, which includes state-owned or
controlled enterprises, still accounts for about one-third of
industrial production. Ozal's Motherland Party has reinforced and
expanded economic reforms since coming to power in 1983.
Agriculture continues as a mainstay, employing almost half
the total labor force in the production of cotton, tobacco, grains,
fruits, and vegetables. Because of the productivity of Turkey's soil
and the efforts of Turkish farmers, the country was one of the few
in the world that was self-sufficient in food during the 1980s.
Ambitious government projects, including a $21 billion irrigation
program to create a new "fertile crescent" in the semiarid
southeast, stress agriculture's important role in foreign trade.
Turkey's regional climatic diversity and usually adequate rainfall
permit a broad ange of crops.
Growth in GNP averaged almost 7% between 1983 and 1989.
The pace of Turkey's growth, however, slowed in the late 1980s.
Unrestrained government spending, rapid economic development, and
drought conditions have had a price: unemployment stands at 14.4%,
and inflation remains steady at almost 70%. One of the main
reasons for inflation is the public sector deficit, which reached
7.5% of GNP in 1989 and is expected to exceed that ratio in 1990.
Severe drought conditions were a major factor in a recession that
continued into 1989. Agricultural production dropped by almost
11%, pushing real GNP growth to the lowest level since 1980-1.8%.
Turkish authorities have enacted austerity measures to
reduce inflation, including an ambitious program to privatize
inefficient state economic enterprises that contribute
substantially to the deficit. Better than normal agricultural
conditions led to economic recovery in 1990, with real GNP growth
expected to reach 9%. Yet, lower import duties-reduced to
stimulate domestic production and demand by creating greater
competition-and the Turkish lira's real appreciation against
currencies of its primary trading partners, the United States and
Germany, led to a major acceleration in imports and stagnation in
export growth in 1990. The trade deficit further worsened as all
commercial relations with Iraq were suspended. A current account
deficit in excess of $1 billion is expected for 1990.
Domestic economic problems were offset in the 1980s by
substantial improvements in Turkey's external account as exports
expanded from $5.7 billion in 1983 to $11.6 billion in 1989. Turkey
posted a current account surplus of $1.5 billion in 1988, the first
time since 1973. This remarkable improvement came as a result of
the lowest trade deficit in a decade ($1.8 billion) and a jump of
about 60% in tourism revenues (from $1.48 billion to $2.36 billion).
In 1989, a surplus of $966 million was achieved.
Turkey has an exemplary record for repayment of its foreign
debt, which stabilized at $41 billion at the end of 1989. Turkey
refinanced military debts during 1988 and 1989 by exchanging them
for long-term commercial credits.
Turkey has attracted foreign investment by implementing one
of the more liberal foreign investment laws in the world. Between
1981 and 1989, net foreign direct investment increased from $95
million to $633 million. As of mid-1990, the government had
authorized foreign direct investment projects totaling $5.6 billion.
Turkey's economic orientation is increasingly toward the West,
although it is looking for new markets in Asia and the Middle East.
In April 1987, Turkey applied for full membership in the EC.
In 1989, the EC announced it would consider no new members before
1993, the target for completion of the EC's single market plan. In
1990, the EC called for closer economic cooperation with Turkey
under the existing association agreement and will review Turkey's
membership application.
With potential membership in the EC as the catalyst, Turkey
continues to liberalize its economy and harmonize related
legislation to bring it closer to Western standards. In the 1990s,
measured economic growth with financial stability will remain a
major domestic goal.
TRAVEL NOTES
Customs: A visa is not required of holders of US tourist
passports (regular, official, or diplomatic) who plan to stay in
Turkey for 3 months or less. Persons who plan to come to Turkey
for longer stays must apply for a visa from a Turkish embassy or
consulate.
Currency: There are no restrictions on the importation of
Turkish lira or hard currencies into Turkey. However, residents of
Turkey must declare all currencies in excess of the equivalent of
$5,000 upon entry. Visitors to Turkey may exchange Turkish lira up
to the equivalent of $5,000 into foreign currency without any
documentation.
Climate and clothing: Clothing and shoe requirements are
about the same as for the eastern US. Climate on the periphery
(Istanbul, Izmir, and Adana) is Mediterranean with cool, rainy
winters and hot, moderately dry summers. The Black Sea coast
receives the greatest rainfall. Shielded by mountains, the interior
(Ankara) has continental climate with cold winters and dry, hot
summers. Climate in the eastern mountainous area is often severe.
Health: Public health standards in the larger cities approach
those in the US, but care must be taken, especially in rural areas.
While tap water in major cities is generally potable, it is
recommended that bottled water be used at all times, because of
possible intermittent contamination of water lines. Turkish law
requires that at least one pharmacy be open in a neighborhood at all
times.
Telecommunications: Telephone and telegraph services,
domestic and international, and generally dependable. During peak
hours, circuits are often overloaded. Turkey is seven hours ahead of
EST. Daylight savings time is used.
Transportation: More than 20 scheduled airlines connect
Turkey with all parts of the world. Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir,
Antalya, and Dalaman are Turkey's primary international airports.
Turkish Airlines (THY), Turkish state railways, and a variety of
intercity bus companies serve many points in Turkey, Europe, and
the Middle East. Local buses, share cabs, and minibuses (dolmus),
although somewhat crowded, provide satisfactory local
transportation. Taxis are readily available. Main roads are fairly
good in and between the large centers; secondary roads are
generally adequate. Roads frequently lack shoulders. Drivers should
exercise extreme care because of heavy truck and other traffic, and
unpredictable drivers. Driving at night in the countryside should be
avoided because of many or poorly-lit vehicles on the highway.
Publications Concerning Turkey
Also available from the Superintendent of Documents, US
Government Printing Office, Washington, DC, 20402:
Turkey Post Report-US Department of State (1990). Turkey, A
Country Study- American University (1989). Foreign Labor Trends-
US Department of Labor. Foreign Economic Trends-US Department of
Commerce. Economic trends and trade information is available from
the International Trade Administration, US Department of
Commerce, Washington, DC, 20230, or from any Commerce
Department district office.
Published by the United States Department of State - Bureau of
Public Affairs - Office of Public Communication - Washington, DC
-- January 1991. Editor: Deborah Guido-O'Grady.
Department of State Publication 7850 Background Notes Series.
This material is in the public domain and may be reprinted without
permission; citation of this source is appreciated. For sale by the
Superintendent of Documents, US Government Printing Office,
Washington, DC, 20402. (###)